Cuts Present New Opportunities For Younger Ravens

While many fans are not too thrilled with the recent announcements of the cuts the Baltimore Ravens have made in the opening hours of the back to work flurry of activity, it does present some interesting opportunities for a few of the younger players on the team that have previously toiled in relative obscurity.

With WR Derrick Mason not on the team's roster, it gives rookies Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss as well as young veterans David Reed, Marcus Smith, Justin Harper and James Hardy chances and repetitions that they would otherwise have to share among each other.

Todd Heap's departure, if it ends up as such, would mean that Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta, both second year pros, would move up on the depth chart and most likely get significant playing time with the first team in practice and once the regular season began.

Kelly Gregg was a starter on the defensive line for much of the past decade, but there was a reason the team was so excited to get Terrence Cody in the 2010 NFL Draft. Along with Arthur Jones and some of the newest Ravens from the 2011 Draft and free agency, reps will be plentiful, although one should not forget veterans Brandon McKinney and Kelly Talavou, although the latter is also a free agent.

Finally, the biggest opportunities could be in the running back position, with the release of Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain almost certain not to return. Who will fill that void behind Ray Rice is still undecided, if it ends up being rookie Anthony Allen, veteran Jalen Parmele, one of the guys on the Practice Squad or a soon-to-be-signed free agent.

Either way, a lot more moves will be made by the team to get the full complement of bodies into Training Camp starting tomorrow. Many faces will be missing and many will be new, but there will still be a veteran presence on this team and hopefully, some of the recent cuts will be re-signed to contracts more "friendly" to the team's needs. If not, opportunities abound and guys are just drooling for the chance to be a contributing part of this team.